Railway mail catcher and deliverer.



No. 884,868. PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

' W. TLSEBRBE.

RAILWAY MAIL GA TOHER AND DELIVBRER. I

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1908- WITNESSES:

BY 9 W INVENTOR ATTORNEY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENT'ED APR. 14, 1908. W. T. SEBREB. RAILWAY MAIL OATOHER AND DELIVERER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1508.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v I I I v Q 7 I 26 r v I K I I /q /4 I I WITNESSES:

I v v I m w IVTOR c2. wen 7- -TM/ Br ATTORNEY To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WYATT Tll-OMAS SEBREE, OF OARROLLTON, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO J. FRANCIS JETT, HENRY SMITH, LEWIS THOMA', AND DAVID M. BRIDGES, OF CARROLLTON,

KENT UCK'Y.

RAILWAY MAIL CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 14, 1908.

Application filed February ,4, 1908. Serial No. 414,221.

Be it known that I, l/VY ATT THoMAs SEBREE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carrollton, in the county of Carroll and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and useful Railway Mail Catcher and Deliverer, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to railway mail "catchers and deliverers, and the objects of my invention are to provide a mail bag catcher and deliverer that will be reliable in operation, inexpensive to manufacture, una cted by Weather conditions, compact in construction, very durable, and which can be operated without danger to life. These objects I attain by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus including both the stationary and traveling portions of the mechanism; Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional view through a car showing parts of the apparatus in top plan view; Fig. 3, an elevation showing the face of the nets and a portion of the car in transverse section; Fig. 4, a front elevation of a mail car with the traveling portion of the mechanism mounted in position for use; Fig. 5, a detail showing the manner in which the mail sacks are caught and retained by the net; Fi 6, a detail in ers ective of the tri a PP P e ger and trigger arm; ig. 7, a detail showing the conventional ring attached by a cord to all mail bags.

Similar reference numerals refer to similarparts throughout the several views of the drawings. g

A post 1, with guy rods of the usual pattern, is permanently fastened at a suitable distance from the track and at the point Where it is desired to catch and deliver the mail. At the upper extremity of the post, a bearing 2 is provided with a channel of size and shape suitable for the support of the catching arm 3, which is pivoted by a bolt in bearing 2. Upon an arm 3, at the end farthestfrom the track, abalance weight 4 is mounted. The arm or lever 3, and the 6 Weight 4 may be made in any suitable proportions, of any material, Without departing rom the spirit of my invention. Upon that end of the arm 3 which is nearest the track, a hood or cover 5 is mounted. This hood or cover may be made of any suitable material and is designed to'protect a slot 6, from' the rain or snow. The slot 6 is provided for the pur ose of holding the usual rin attached to mai bags (Fig. 7) and may be ormed in an end of arm 3, or a slotted member may be attached to the arm without in any wise changing the nature of my device. At or near the middle portion of the post 1, and upon that side nearest the track, a frame 8, made of any suitable metal, is provided for the purpose of supporting a stationary chain net 7. This chain net is made of metal rings of comaratively large diameter, suitably connected y smaller links, which serve the pur ose of preventing the net from freezing solidly to the frame in cold weather. As the rings are large; only a small surface can be frozen to the frame, and the net, if so frozen, can be freed by a very slight blow, such, for instance, as the impact of an empty sack. The frame 8 is pivoted upon angle bearings of the usual type by albolt 9, threaded upon each end. Upon the ends of the bolt 9 are mounted nutslO of conventional type.

It will be seen by reference to the drawings that, when either of the nuts 10 is tightened the angle bearings are forced upon the frame 8, causing more or less frictional resistance to the turning of frame 8 upon its bearings, Upon the'frame 12 of a mail-car door of'the standard type, a U shaped guide rod is provided, having in its lower portion two holes, in one of which a cotter pin is placed. The guide rod 13 slides in bearing brackets 15, these being plates of metal suitably formed to fit the frame of the car-door, attached to the same'by screws or other suitable means,

and bored .to fit the parallel bars of the U I U vertical aperture is also provided for a hinge bolt 19, which'serves to connect the hinge blocks with the traveling net frame. It Wlll be understood that hinge blocks 17 are fixed in thedesiredoperative position on guide rod 13 by means of set-screws or some similar device. Upon the ends of the bolt-18, nuts... 19-0f the same typeas nuts 10, are provided;

for the similar purpose of regulating the fric=- tional resistance to the movement of the net frame upon its hinges. Within and attached to frame 18 is a chain net 20 of the same construction as stationary net 7. Upon the lower angle of the frame farthest from the hinges a socket 233 is provided for the recep- 5 tion of the right-ai'igular or hooked portion of the brace rod 24. At a point near and just below the socket 23, a trigger arm 21 is pivoted by means of a pin or bolt. This trigger arm comprises a collar with which is integrally formed an extension or arm carrying a notch 28 in its edge. Upon this trigger arm 21 is pivoted a biparted trigger 22 with its biparted ends turned back to form hooks. The pivot-bolt of connecting trigger. arm 21 and trigger 22 is so placed as to cause the hooked ends of trigger 22 to cover the notch 28 insarm 21 when trigger 22 is hanging in a vertical position. At suitable positions on the side of the mail car, stops 26 are provided to limit the travel of brace rods 24, and hooks or rests 27 are also placed upon the sides of.

the car in order that the brace rod not in use.

may be hung upon-the hook and prevented from dragging. In the accompanying drawings are shown a mail-bag 11 to be caught by the moving car hung from the catching arm, and a mail bag 25 to be delivered hanging from trigger arm 21 in notch 28 and retained in its position 30 by the trigger 22.. It must be borne in mind that the traveling net is shown in all of the various figures of the accompanying drawings in its fully extended or operative osi- .tion, and when the net is not in use it folds back across the upper portion of the car door and the connected brace rod lies flat against the side of the car. The,unconnected'brace rod, meant for use'whenthe car is traveling in the o posite direction rests against 40'the side of t e car in .the stop 26 and its 'hook'27.

, The operation of my device, will now be easily understood. A mail bag 11, equipped with the ring and rope now in use, is suspended from the arm 3 b placing the ring (Fig.7) inthe slot 6v and a owing the rope to hang over the edge of the slot on the side- I nearest the track. The ring is not placed over any part of thestationary mechanism but is merely used to wedge into the slot as a \small plate'might be used for the same purpose. The frame 8 is then extended out from the post 1 until the frame is at an angle of approximately 90 degrees with the track and 515 a l is ready for the oncoming train with the bag tobe delivered. When the mail car approaches the point at which mail is to be received and delivered, a mail bag 25 issuspended from trigger arm 21 by placing the ring attached to the bag in notch 28, and the traveling frame 16 is swung out to its operative position by a sharp push from the hand of the mail clerk. The air pressure generated by the motion of the train acts upon t5 the net and mail bagito hold them in the dropped into the soc et.

fixed to said frame, a laterally projecting proper operative position, as brace rod 24- limits the motion of the net-frame. The bag 25 cannot be shaken off nor blown away,- as the ring is held firmly in the notch 28 by' the, hooks of trigger 22. When the car, moving in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 1, reaches the stationary net,

the bag 1 1 is engaged by the traveling net 20,

jerked free of the slot 6, 'and,at the same instant, the trigger 22 strikes the upper bar of frame ,8, .moving th trigger from the posi tion shown by the solid lines of Fig. 6 to the position shown by thedotted linesof the figure and releasin bag 25. In this manner the bag 11 is enve oped and retained by net 20 and bag 25 is deposited in net 7. The manner in which the bags are caught and retained by the nets is shown by Fig. 5. The shock or impact of the bag 11 upon the frame 16 and net 20 is borne by brace-rod 24. 'The net 7 and frame 8 are free to yield slightly under the impact of bag 25', but the friction Q of'the hinges of frame 8 revents the frame from moving} too far. en the train is moving in a direction the reverse of that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the traveling portion of the mechanism may be reversed by releasing brace rod 24-from socket 23 and withdrawing the cotter-pin 14 from its hole in rod 13, and the rod 13 slid until the hinge blocks 17 travel across the width of the car-- door andv abut against the bearing brackets 15 on the other side of the door. frame. The cotter-pin is then laced'in the other hole and the right-ang ar ortion of a brace rod The stationary portion of the mechanism of my device may be used without change to catch and deliver mail with the train running in either direction.

Having thus described my invention so that any one skilled in the art pertaining thereto, may make and use it, I claim 1. A mail catcher and delivery apparatus for railwaymail service comprisinga frame ivotally mounted upon a car, a' netting ed to said frame, a laterally projecting arm upon said frame, a trigger provided With a bi-parted end pivotally mounted upon said arm and having its end curved to retain a mail bag upon the arm, astationary post, a weighted :oross piece pivotally mounted thereon, means for holding a mail bag-carrying rin upon said Weighted cross-piece, a hinged frame and netting upon said post and positioned in the path of said trigger and bag carried by the moving car, as set forth.

' 2. A mail catcher and delivery apparatus for railway mail service, comprising a frame pivotally mounted upon a car, a netting arm uponsaid'frame, a trigger having a biparted end pivotally mounted upon said arm and having its end curved to retain a. mail bag. upon the arm, a stationary post, a 130 weighted cross piece pivotally' mounted thereon, the end of said cross piece being slotted and adapted to hold a mail bag carrying ring, a hinged frame and netting mounted u on said' post and positioned in the path of said trigger and bag carried by the moving car, as set forth. I a

8. A mail catcher and delivery apparatus for railway mail service, comprising a frame ivotally mounted upon a car, a netting Exed to said frame, a laterally projecting arm upon saidframe, a trigger having a biparted end pivotally mounted upon said arm and having its end curved to retain a mail bag upon the arm, a stationary 0st, the upper end of said post having a s ot, a Weighted delivery arm pivotally mounted in said slot,

one end of said arm raving a recess for the.

reception of a ring carrying a mail bag, a hinged frame and netting mounted upon said post and in the ath of said trigger and mail bag carried by t e car, asset forth.

4. A mail catcher and delivery apparatus for railway mail service, comprising, in combination with a car, a U-shaped rod mounted thereon, blocks pivotally mounted upon said rod, a frame hinged to said block, a netting mounted upon said frame, a mail bag supported by said frame, a trigger for holding said hag upon the frame, a stationary post,

a pivotal delivery arm mounted upon said post and designed to hold a mail bag in the path of said netting uponthe moving car, a hinged frame and netting upon said ost positioned in the path of said trigger an the bag carried by the car, as set forth.

WYATT THOMAS SEBREE. Witnesses:

D. B. MEDANIoH, M. O. ROLLWAGE; 

